Celebrating The 10th Anniversary of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.

Can you believe it! 10 years ago, our beloved Frye twins whisked us away to the gritty, smoke-filled streets of Victorian London - a world teeming with historical intrigue, industrial revolution and charmingly witty sibling banter. 

To mark the Assassin's Creed Syndicate's 10^th anniversary, we sat down with members of the original development team, Scott (Game Director, AC Syndicate. Currently Game Director, unannounced project), Jonathan (World Director, AC Syndicate. Currently Creative Director, AC Shadows), Martin (Lead AI / Gameplay Programmer, AC Syndicate. Currently Brand and Pipeline Technological Director) and Andrée-Anne (Associate Producer, AC Syndicate. Currently Producer, AC Franchise), who helped bring this ambitious chapter of the franchise to life. We talked about their experience working on Syndicate and looked back on their favorite moments from the game 10 years later. 

But first, from all of us at Assassin's Creed, thank you. Your passion and support over the past decade have meant everything.  

What is one of your favorite memories from working on Assassin's Creed Syndicate? 

Scott: One of my favorite memories from Assassin's Creed Syndicate was realizing I'd gone from being a fan of the series to actually building it. Jumping into an early London build, hearing the carriages, seeing the fog, and all the iconic Assassins elements---was surreal. It was also my first experience working on a game of that scale: nearly a thousand developers across multiple studios, compared to the 100+ person teams I'd been used to in my past. Seeing all the pieces coming together to bring Victorian London to life was an unforgettable moment. 

Jonathan: One of my absolute favorite moments came during Beta, when the team made a huge graphical push---and suddenly, the city came alive. It was electric! I still remember standing in London during the early conception phase, staring at the massive task ahead and thinking, "How the hell are we going to build this world?" Fast forward to seeing it all come together and fulfill its potential---it was an unforgettable team triumph. 

Martin: Assassin's Creed Syndicate is still one of my favorite projects to have worked on, as I've always been a huge fan of the Victorian London era. I have two standout memories from that project: 

First, as the Lead Gameplay Programmer, we delivered the fully systemic horse-carriage core gameplay loop. Playing in a living city full of traffic, you could jump from carriage to carriage, fighting NPCs who could also leap across in pursuit. 

Second, as a core team member, helping to set up the press tour in an abandoned power station was unforgettable. It was full of makeshift setups---we even had to put umbrellas on some tables because water was dripping onto the devkits!

What were some of the biggest lessons you learned from the development of Assassin's Creed Syndicate that impacted work on future games? 

Scott: One of my biggest lessons learned from Assassin's Creed Syndicate was the value of building strong relationships across such a massive, distributed team. The project connected the Quebec studio with partner studios, forging trust and relationships that became the foundation for Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Those bonds allowed us to collaborate faster, share ideas more openly, and push creative boundaries in ways that wouldn't have been possible without Syndicate. In many ways, the success of Odyssey was built on the relationships and processes we learned to nurture during Syndicate. 

Jonathan: I think the biggest lesson from Syndicate was discovering how much we could accomplish together. It was a bold, ambitious project, and through it we learned to collaborate, to dream as a team, and to push toward something we all believed in. That shared experience became a key part of how we approached AC Odyssey---it gave us a foundation built on trust, creativity, and teamwork. 

Martin: Syndicate was the first AC project where I had a leadership role at the studio, and I think I was too ambitious for our team. We went all-in on nearly every gameplay front: a brand-new fight system, the rope launcher for traversal, a new conflict loop with vehicles, complex navigation, a fully simulated traffic system within crowds of pedestrians, fully fledged vehicles with navmesh layered on top---you name it. 

The lesson I learned is that every box you open has a cost; you need to make it work with everything else, and even the smallest box eventually needs to be closed. Sometimes it's better to open fewer boxes and aim for a more focused experience. Still, we had a lot of fun, built trust and relationships, and---most importantly---learned how to work together and discovered what we were truly capable of. 

What is your favorite moment from Assassin's Creed Syndicate? 

Scott: One of my favorite moments from Assassin's Creed Syndicate was tearing through the streets of London in a carriage while gang members leapt onto it, mid-chase---it was chaotic, cinematic, and pure fun. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved just slowing down and walking through the city, soaking in the atmosphere. Recently, I even found myself watching hours-long videos of slow walks through Syndicate's London, and it reminded me how incredible that world was to simply exist in. It wasn't just a backdrop; it felt alive. 

Jonathan: There are so many moments I cherish from Syndicate---infiltrating the Bank, the witty banter between Evie and Jacob, that gritty intro mission in the factory. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be hopping on a train and touring the city. The world had such variety and movement; it felt truly alive, packed with small details just waiting to be discovered. 

Martin: The vibe and ambiance of that game created a collection of many favorite moments. My top experience, though, was infiltrating a gritty setup at night as Evie and stealthily taking down every single enemy without ever being seen. Stealth kills were brutal and so satisfying. 

Andrée-Anne: Creating a cool hideout. In a train. That's always moving in the city. With bonus missions & gang upgrades. At the time, it was a great tech challenge that we could only achieve working all together - tech teams, world teams, mission teams, across the world. Since we all thought it was a crazy fun idea, this is when the magic happens. 

Are you team Stealth or Guns-blazing? 

Scott: Definitely guns-blazing. Even though Assassin's Creed is rooted in stealth and melee, I pushed hard to make sure 3^rd aiming and gunplay felt satisfying and felt appropriate for a 3^rd person action game. Most of the team probably remembers that I'd end review playthroughs by pulling out my pistol and blasting through enemies---it became kind of my trademark. For me, having that option added a layer of freedom and fun that balanced the stealth experience perfectly. 

Jonathan: My playstyle has always been start stealthily, mess up gloriously, then improvise my way through. Syndicate was perfect for that. With all its emerging systems---police patrols, horse-drawn carts, the rope Launcher, trains, boats---it gave you so many tools to adapt on the fly. Every slip-up turned into a chance for creative chaos, and that made the experience incredibly fun and satisfying 

Martin: Definitely stealth. There are so many guns games, so few good stealth games. For me the ultimate satisfying experience is to kill everyone without being detected.  P.S., I remember Scott pushing SO MUCH for better gunplay! 

Has there been a particular moment with a fan or the wider community that sticks out to you as demonstrating how powerful a connection Assassin's Creed Syndicate has made with players? 

Jonathan: Connecting with fans is always a highlight---getting to talk about our shared love for Assassin's Creed or games in general is something I truly cherish. But one moment from Syndicate stands out in a deeply personal way. About a year after the game launched, I received a letter from a fan who had lost their mother to cancer. They were going through a tough time, battling depression, and they thanked us for creating a world where they could escape for a few hours. They said Syndicate helped them move forward. That message hit me hard. It was a powerful reminder of how games can offer comfort, connection, and even healing---and why what we build matters. 

Martin: I was a Demoist at E3, and I remember a girl who had been waiting in line for a long time. When her turn finally came, she asked the dev team to sign her Assassin's Creed logo tattoo! That's when I realized just how much this brand means to people. I truly believe we have the best fans in the world. 

Andrée-Anne: Being able to witness our players' reaction to our game for the first time is always one of my favorite moments. Seeing our player's reactions to our E3 demo, and the surprising choices they made along the way, gave us so much energy as a dev team. We knew we had a fun game in our hands. 

Also, we had a booth at the San Diego Comic-Con, and we built a real-life parkour track tower where players could do a real leap of faith on top of a tower at the end! 

Do you have any fun anecdotes or memories that come to mind about the development of Assassin's Creed Syndicate, its legacy or the impact it's had on you and the team?   

Scott: One of my favorite moments was demoing Assassin's Creed Syndicate to the media in the UK and seeing their excitement about getting the "Assassin's Creed treatment" for their own history. They couldn't wait to explore Victorian London as a living, breathing playground, and that reaction really reinforced what I love about this brand---bringing history, both famous and forgotten, to life for players everywhere. The fact that we have an endless canvas in human history to keep doing that is something I'll never take for granted and will keep this brand relevant forever. 

Martin: Definitely the press tour in the abandoned power station. I had to run to the hardware store to buy power bars, extension cords---and even umbrellas---because the venue was not really suited for all those TVs and devkits (and water was even leaking from the ceiling). We even had to break a window to get the main cable inside the power generator!  

We're incredibly grateful to the Assassin's Creed Syndicate community for your support over the past ten years. Hearing how the game---and the journey of Jacob and Evie Frye---has resonated with so many of you continues to inspire us. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to every player who's grappled the streets of London with us. 

You can experience Victorian London in a whole new light with the free 60 FPS update for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 pro.  

There's a lot to love about Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and we'd love to hear from you as we celebrate on our social media channels. Discord | Instagram | TikTok